Porteiro tops first Brno test
Félix Porteiro emerged as the quickest in free practice one of the Czech event at Brno. At the wheel of his BMW 320si the Spaniard clocked a 2:13.457 in the early stages of the session. Andy Priaulx achieved the second best time which was 0.93 of a second off Porteiro’s. SEAT Sport man and last year’s pole position winner Gabriele Tarquini was third fastest with a 2:13.755.
Luca Rangoni was the best independent and with an impressive time of 2:13.798 was placed fourth overall for Proteam Motorsport. His new team-mate Davide Roda struggled to learn the track and after spinning a couple of times throughout the session he ended up in the gravel at turn five.
The N.technology Alfa Romeo team was headed by James Thompson whose time of 2:13.903 placed him fifth overall ahead of SEAT Sport duo Michel Jourdain and Jordi Gené – who has the upgraded engine.
Below them on the timesheet were a couple of BMW drivers: Alessandro Zanardi and Jörg Müller in eighth and ninth position respectively.
The top ten was completed by Tom Coronel of GR Asia who completed a lap in 2:14.470 behind the wheel of his GR Asia SEAT León. Massimiliano Pedalà, who is replacing the injured Roberto Colciago at SEAT Sport Italia, was classified 12th.
